MILWAUKEE — Summertime in the city means it’s time for Milwaukee’s cultural festivals. While this normally signals a celebration of the city’s many communities, festivities are muddied following violent outbursts after the Juneteenth festival and more recently, at Greek Fest on Saturday night.
During Monday’s edition of Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, the team discussed several fights and subsequent arrests that forced Greek Fest to close early on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Multiple arrests were confirmed and many others were kicked out of the festival for unruly behavior. That forced the State Fair Police and Greek Fest leaders to shut down the event early on Saturday, limit hours on Sunday and close off the Midway, meaning no rides were available in that span.
WAN Host John Mercure reflected on a conversation with his suburban neighbors, who told him they didn’t want to go to events like this anymore — especially with children. While John didn’t fully agree with the sentiment, he understood and agreed that he’d be hesitant if his loved ones wanted to attend the festivals.
WTMJ Sports Director Greg Matzek suggested that events like these charge admission to prevent unruly individuals from attending Greek Fest and other similar events. However, a caller named Tina from Waukesha shared her experience of a fight breaking out in front of her young daughter at the Wisconsin State Fair five years ago. That, combined with more violent outbursts, has changed her perspective:
“I don’t feel safe there, especially around the Midway with the fights. We’re careful about what we go to, and I’ll be honest, I’m probably not going to let my kids, who are now teenagers, go to events like Church Festivals at night without me.”
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Another caller, Dennis in Milwaukee, believes the solution is within the region’s justice system, which he says is allowing many of these individuals to get off without harsh enough penalties to curb violence.
“I think a large part of the problem rests on the judiciary. If there are no consequences for bad behavior, you’re going to have more bad behavior,” Dennis said. “I’m not advocating for locking up these perpetrators for five or 10 years, but there should be some consequences for their actions, and I’m convinced right now that there aren’t.”
The discussion culminated with a call from Greek Fest chairman Michael Stavropoulos, whose focus remains on the innocent people who were impacted by these fights.
“We try to share our culture and our food with people and raise funds for our missions, and all the good people — I’m known to focus on everything good. Are there knuckleheads? Yes there are.”
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Stavropoulos considered Matzek’s idea of charging a cover, and admitted that his team would “love to do something like that,” but he also expressed a desire to help the families who would have a hard time paying for entry.
“So we have a lot to do. We’re going to pray about it, we’re going to be grateful for the people that came out, we’re grateful in every way, but definitely going to realign things to see how we can keep everyone safe,” Stavropoulos said.
The decision to shut down early on Saturday and limit the festivities on Sunday was quick, according to Stavropoulos. While these choices left a negative economic impact on Greek Fest itself, the chairman stated that “money comes and goes,” but leaving a poor taste in families’ mouths was a more important ramification of Saturday night’s fights.
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